Knitting machine



1933. G. VOLLENWEIDER 1,899,838

KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 50, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet l Feb.- 28, 1933.

G. VOLLENWEIDER KNITTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 30, 1930Feb. 28, 1933. v

G. VOLLENWEIDER 1,899,838

KNITTING MACHINE 1 a Filed July 30, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Feb, 28, 1933.G. VOLLENWEIDER 1,899,838

KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 30, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 1933- e.VOLLENWEIDER 1,899,838

KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 30, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Feb. 28,1933 entree STATES PATENT QFF1E* anon-ens VOLLENWEIDER,

xin'r'rme MACHINE or coLoMBns, FRANCE Application filed July 30, 1930,Serial No. 471,841, and in France July 30, 1929 The present inventionhas for its object a process for manufacturing fancy-figured loop-workon the knitting machine, the characteristic feature residing in the facttiat the production of the figures (designs), of the colors and the kindof loops is secured without the use of the jacquard-card by means of theneedles made independent the one from the otherduring their risingmovement. V

The apparatus for performing the process, which can be used as anadditional device on flat knit-ting machines, is characterized by thefeature that it comprises sliding bars lodged within a guiding bed,which can be displaced in any desired choice by means of oscillatinglevers actuated by cam plates.

On the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the device, placed forinstance on the rear frame of a hand-knitting machine;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus in combination with'theneedle-guiding-bed;

Fig. 3 represents the front view, an

Fig. 4 the'plan of a support for the operating cams actuated by a guide;

Fig. 5 shows respectively the side and front view of an oscillatinglever,

Fig. 6 is a front view of the apparatus, wherein the oscillating leversand the cams have been omitted;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the bed placed in front of the ordinary needleguiding plate.

8 In order to render comprehensible the additional apparatus, it hasbeen represented, according to Fig. 1, in combination with anordinaryknitting machine, wherein it has been placed on the rearframework.

The additional apparatus allows the manufacture on a fiat knittingmachine, in addition to the ordinary work (tricot, etc.) fancyfiguredwork, without the help of the known jacquard-card, in any color andhaving any kind of loops. It is hence possible to change instantaneouslyfrom the tricot type to the ordinary loops or fromthe rib, called 2-2 tothat called 1 -1, and so on. The ordinary knitting machine becomes thusa uni versal one.

No change 0 i 5 becomes necessary in the ordinary knitting machine,except that the usual rising cam (or cams) for the needles is dispensedwith on the si which the new apparatus is mounted.-

also be placed .5 7

clear that the apparatus on the front side.

According to the ing plate 4 is fixed by de of the. frame on It isdrawings a grooved guidmeans of arms 21, 3 on the needle guiding bed 1.Theabove mencontinuation of the needle grooves and serve to lodge theneedle tioned grooves form the jacks 5. ends the standards 6,

On the plate 4 are fixed on both holding between them the are shapedslotted guiding bar 9 for the oscillating levers 8 axis 8 suspended onfree end of the latter whichswing round the 5..- the said standards. The

have extending arms9' with eyes wherein rotate the axles 9" of cylindersll, 11 receive, to guide and to representing the a design under endhaving whereof is rolled 10 provided with a slotted casing 10. sheet 10is moved stepwise in the directi IDOVB for its object to the sheet 10 ofany nature, the

on the cylinder The on of the arrows and wound on the last cylinder 1175. (Fig. 1). The bed 12 supporting the threadgiver serves, to receivethe s carried by the ordinary knitting-machine. The carriage comprises14, while the usual moved vention, replaced by two ca described'herein.

lide 13 comprises tional apparatus The upright part of the s two hinges16 on the ascension a guiding plate 19?) and which hand orautomatically. the rear studs 00 of the made of two parts.

to be altered, owing ing effect of the rear par with and, according tcams 17, 18 are which can occupy different angu carriage 23 lide 18whichis of the rear plate of the the usual falling cams ascension camsare re- 0 the present inms of the addiaxles of which the the knittingwor ts 17, 18 is modifie mounted and lar positions. support is Thisenables the by the oscillation of the end parts 17a, 18a in thedirection of the arrows.

The said slide 19 can occupy the different positions designated by thenumerals 1, 2, 3 and 4 (in the scale, Fig. 3) so that it becomespossible to put into the working position, at will, the upper or theunder or both hinge connected cams. in the fourth position they arecompletely disengaged.

The oscillating levers 8 are each made of two parts whereof the upperpart 8a, pro

vided with an abutment 22, can be displaced within the under forkshapedpart and occupy two difierent positions. It is clear that the number ofpositions of tie abutment can be increased. The under end of the mobilelever part is at this end provided with a spring which snaps in eachposition into a groove of the other part and hence determines direction(dotted lines,

- cot) without designs,

the position of the abutment 22. Thefree end of the part 8a terminatesin an index pointer 27.

The operation of the additional apparatus is as follows: At the to andfro movement of the carriage 23 of the machine, the sliding support 13and all its parts are displaced in the same manner, i. e. also theascension cams 17, 18 which cooperate with the abutments 22 of thelevers 8a, which can, as mentioned, occupy two different positions(Figs. 2 and 5). When the upper cam plate 18, 18a is in its workingposition (Figs. 1', 2), wherein it is parallel to the guiding plate 4,it acts on all levers 8, 8a, the abutments 22 of which are in the upperposition. On the other side the under cam plate 17, 17a acts in itsworking position (Fig. 1) only on these levers 8, the abutments of whichoccupy the lowest position (Figs. 2, 5, full lines). During the slidingdisplacement of the ascension cams, these levers 8, 8a oscillate in theoutward Figs. 1 and 2), the abutments 22 whereof come into touch withthe ascension cams 18 or 17. These .cams move the oscillating leverslaterally and make them oscillate towards the sheet 10. In this movementthey are guided by the slotted bar 9. During their oscillation theinferior end of the levers 8 displace the needle jacks 5 upward andhence also the needles. The displacement of each needle is independentof-the others, so that it is possible to make any design in any color orcombination of colors directly on the knitting work without the use ofthe jacquard-card.

When both studs 00 of the cam plates 17, 18 are in the position 1 3) andwhen the abutments 22 of all levers 8a occupy the highest or the lowest,or a mingled position ig. 1), i. e'. when the two cams 17, 18 are in theparallel position,'so that all the levers 8 can oscillate under theirinfluence, the ap paratus makes ordinary knitting work (tribecause thetwo cams act then in the same way as the ascension cams which have beenremoved from the rear bed of the knitting machine, as mentioned herein.

A similar effect is obtained, when the studs 00 are in the position 2and when the cams 17 18 are positioned as shown in Fig. 2.

But when itis desired to make for example longitudinally ribboned(lengthwise lines alternating in color) work in two different colors andthis for example of the smallest size, the part 8a 'of each second lever8 is pushed down by hand or otherwise, within the forked part so thatthe abutment'22 occupies the position shown in full lines (Fig. 5). Thelever arms 8a, not pushed down, occupy the position shown indottedlines.Now the upper cam 18, 18a is placed in the working position (Fig. 2) byso displacing the slide 19 that the stud m is placed beneath the index 2(Fig. 3). The needles on the former part of the frame of theknittingmachine work in the ordinary known way. If the carriage 23 isfor instance pushed from its outermost left place into the outermostright place of the machine,the threadguiding arm (not shown) conveyingand entering the thread giving to the work the general color, all thoseoscillating levers 8, 8a, 27 oscillate clockwise, the abutments 22whereof are in the raised position.

When the carriage 23 arrives in the outermost right positionyonedisplaces the slide 19 in such manner that the stud m is placed beneaththe index line 3, whereby the in ferior ascension cam 17, 17a ispositioned in the working position (Fig. 1). The cam 18, 18a is madeinoperative, because it is inclined in the outward direction andoccupies a position which is not symmetric to that of the under camplate 17 17a Fig. 2). The cam 18, 18a therefore cannot come into touchwith any of the levers 8, 8a, 22. During this change of the position ofthe cams, there was also alternated the thread guiding device, which iswell known. If new the carriage 23 is again moved back to the left sideof the machine, the cam 17, 17a comes into contact with the abutments ofthese levers, the abutment 22 whereof occupies the lowest position,shown in full lines (Fig. 5). There are now only these lovers 8, 8a, 22which oscillate in the above described manner. If this function isrepeated again and again, there is produced a design in the form ofstraight lines of two different colorshaving no interruption. change ofthe position of the cams 17*18 is not made by hand, but automatically inany known manner.

The backward moving of the levers 8, 8a, 22 into the original, normalposition is effected by means of the respective needles under theinfluence of the known descent cams 14 of the machine.

At the position of the stud w beneath the It is clear that practicallythe automatic change of the cam number 2, the upper cam plate 18, 18a isin the working position, while the cam plate 17, 17a, is inoperative(Fig. 2). If the carriage 23 is driven, as mentioned, from the startingposition to the right hand, the ascension cam plate 18, 18a comes intocontact with all the levers, the abutment 22 whereof is in the raisedposition and makes them oscillate clockwise (Figs. 1 and 2) so that theappertaining needles are operated. As soon as the cam plates 17 or 18leave the abutments 22, the descent cam plates 14 become operative sothat the levers 8 and the push bolts 5 are pulled back. When thecarriage arrives in the right hand position, the position of the camplates changes automatically, i. e. the cam 18, 180; oscillates in theupper direction leaving thus the operative position; the plate 17, 17 aon the contrary comes into action and comes into touch with theabutments 22, formerly pressed down, as soon as the carriage 23 startsto the left side. Now takes place the introduction of the thread whichproduces the design. The

plate position is effected by the automatically working slide 19 whichdirects the stud w alternately from 2 to 3 and from 3 to 2 and so on, assoon as the carriage arrives at the outermost right position.

The rear thread guiding arm introduces the ground-thread.

In order to make any desired irregular pattern or design, one changesthe position of the abutments 22 during the working, taking intoconsideration that the needles which produce the ground of the knittingwork are operated when the abutment 22 is raised and that the needleswhich make the design are operated by means of the abutment 22 whichoccupies the lowest position (or inversely).

It is clear that the levers 8, 8a can also be constructed in such a waythat the abutments occupy more than two intermediate positions, so thatit is rendered possible to use acorresponding number of colored threadswhich produce then different colors on the same range of loops.

As a pattern is preferably used, a sheet of paper divided into squareswherein are placed points giving the division or distance of theneedles. In order to find immediately the number of abutments 22 to bepressed down, one can use an auxiliary device comprising in its mostsimple form, a thread Z placed horizontally on the cylinder 11 Accordingto Fig. 6 the thread Z covers for instance four points of the patternsheet. The abutments 22 of the four levers 8 corresponding to these fourpoints (crosses) must thus be regulated correspondingly. This regulatingoperation must be performed each time before the carriage 23 starts fromleft to right. If the carriage is again returned to the left side, thepattern sheet advances automatically according to vertical division orrange. After the roller 11 i. e. the sheet of paper 10 has been advancedto the extentof'a range of v I which for instance are situated inanother verticali'ange, as is thecase, for instance, in V checkpatterns, then all previously downpressed abutments 22must again beraised and those of the levers S must be pushed down which correspondwith the new range. This is the underlying principle of the work ingaction." Now when manufacturing pure checkpatterns, said raising of theabutments 22 can be brought about by displacing the regulating device orslide 19 in the left hand position of the carriage 23 before pushingsaid carriage again to the right, that is to say that one puts the part00, standing on the index 2 into the position marked 3. stead of theguide thread 2, there can be used a toothed plate 24: (Fig. 1) the teethof which, when advancing the pattern sheet, are always placed to agreewith the respective corresponding points of the pattern shown in Fig. 6so that it is possible to recognize immediately the abutments 22 whichhave to be displaced in height.

It is clear from the foregoing description,

that by the aid of cam levers 18, 17 made in two parts it is possible tosimultaneously manufacture by adjusting the position of the abutments22, different kinds of loops. It is moreover possible to manufacture inthe most simple manner differently colored or multi-colored fabriccomposed of different kinds of loops.

. I claim:

I 1. Apparatus for manufacturing fancy figured multicolored loop work(tricot, etc.) on a a hand knitting machine, comprising a grooved bed,needle jacks in the grooves of said bed, oscillating levers for moving.said jacks and ascension cam plates for actuat ing said levers.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the oscillating levers arevariable in length and the cam plates are variable as to their angularposition.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the levers each comprise alower part having a forked end and an upper part slid able within thesaid forked end and provided with abutments and index points.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the cam plates for directingthe oscillating levers are arranged to be displaced with reference tothe horizontal plane.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the cam plates are eachcomposed of two articulated port.

6. Apparatus accordingto claim 1 including a movable slide having slotsand in which the cam plates are directed by means of studs engaging'saidslots of said movable slide.

.7. Apparatus according to claim 1, including a movable slide havingslots and in which the cam plates are directed by means of studsengaging said slots of said movable slide and the sliding plate,directing the cam plates, has convenient guide slots in order to allowits placement on the longitudinal guiding bar of the carriage of aknitting machine.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1 including in front of the oscillatinglevers cylinders adapted to receive, to guide and to advance a patternsheet. r

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of JulyA. D. 1930.

- GEORGES VOLLENWEIDER.

parts attached by hinges to a sup- 7 I

